While the cruise industry is increasingly global, most of the capacity is concentrated in a handful of sailing regions, according to the 2016-2017 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
The Caribbean and the Bahamas will have an estimated 38.5 percent of the global capacity this year, down slightly from 39.9 percent last year. Over the past five years, the passenger capacity in the Caribbean and the Bahamas have fluctuated between 39 and 42 percent.
The Mediterranean is seeing a bigger drop this year – to 16.1 percent from 17.9 percent last year, and had nearly 21 percent five years ago.
The big gainer has been the Asia/Pacific region which has grown to 13.5 percent, up from 10.5 percent last year, and only 6.0 percent in 2011.
The Northern and Western Europe region is seeing its capacity up from 8.5 percent last year to 9.2 percent. It has been fluctuating between 8.2 and 9.4 percent.
Another big gainer is Australia with an estimated 4.3 percent market share this year, up from 3.0 percent last year.
Alaska is at 4.0 percent, relatively flat from 4.1 percent last year, but down from a record 6.2 percent in 2006.
The West Coast and the Mexican Riviera are coming back slowly at 3.7 percent, but still a long ways from nearly 8 percent in 2005.
Among other notable market developments, South America has seen a big drop to 1.5 percent this year from a high of nearly 5 percent in 2011.
Other sailing regions have maintained a steady if modest capacity.
About the Annual Report:
The Cruise Industry News Annual Report is the only book of its kind, presenting the worldwide cruise industry through 2025 in 350+ pages. Statistics are independently researched. Learn more by clicking here.
The report covers everything from new ships on order to supply-and-demand scenarios from 1987 through 2021+. Plus there is a future outlook, complete growth projections for each cruise line, regional market reports, and detailed ship deployment by region and market, covering all the cruise lines.
